Flame and Guns
by e1nav57
Summary: Royai 100 Themes Challenge. Chapter 3: A snippet of Roy and Riza's unknown past
1. Military Personnel (001)

**Disclaimer:** Fullmetal Alchemist and all its awesomeness belong to the amazing Hiromu Arakawa. The prompts aren't mine as well.

 _Author's Note: Went back to rewatching/rereading FMA and I thought it was about time I give this prompts a try. I've loved Royai for so long, this work has certainly been overdue._

 _This collection will be chronologically positioned, as I attempt to uncover the development of Roy and Riza's relationship. This chapter will be an exemption, though. I thought it right to start with the first prompt given, and I do think it's a wonderful reflection of the general theme of their relationship._

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001: **_Military Personnel_**

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The military thrived on laws and routine.

 _ **Follow orders.**_

 _Respect the hierarchy._

 _Do your duties._

They did their best to follow them. This was, after all, the path they had to take to change the system from the heights of position and command. What was a little sacrifice for the achievement of a greater good?

There were some difficulties, usually his doing: times when he would be too lazy to do the work, choosing instead to strategize their next step, or entertain one of his many fan girls. But she was there to correct him. It was one of the many roles she played in this military game of theirs.

But sometimes...

Sometimes, orders were a little hard to follow.

 _No fraternization._

They had not seen it as a problem, never acknowledged that it was. And so he contented himself with a supportive touch to her shoulder. She contented herself with giving him a smile. Each of them never knowing for sure whether the other wished the same, but both wanting to break the regulations.

But they would not.

 _Follow orders_.

It was simple, and they adhered to it. They were military personnel, after all.

 **END OF CHAPTER**

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Do please leave a review? :) Many thanks!


	2. Battlefield (003)

A/N: Thank you to the Guest Reviewer and Couple of Luck for the reviews! Thanks also to my lovely beta, SilverPedals1402. :3

Happy New Year to all!

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003: _**Battlefield  
** Inspired by Chapters 59 & 60 of Fullmetal Alchemist **  
**_

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 _Why is alchemy, which ought to bring happiness to the people, being used for murder?  
_ – Riza Hawkeye, Chapter 59

He would have recognized her anywhere, but he had never thought he would see her here. He knew her as his master's daughter, knew her as the quiet girl who would watch sometimes as he learned from her father. He knew her as the girl he had promised to support, yet he had disappeared from. He knew her as the holder of all the secrets, as the one who had entrusted him her back.

He had never known her to be a killer, with eyes like his.

"He is right," she says in a quiet voice, as Hughes and Kimbley walked away. "Major Kimbley is right," her voice trembled only slightly now. "We chose this, and we must not forget," she pulled her gun and stood straighter, her eyes back to those of a killer.

He turned to her with weariness, and again, he clenched his fists together. What he would do to remove all this away from her. He remembered what she had confessed to him earlier.

He wanted to tell her that the very questions she had asked was what he kept within him as well. He had so many dreams about the military, and it did nothing but crush down on him. He could see it happening to her as well. He would apologize, but he knows apologies would do nothing now. Guilt killed him, for he was using this power to kill millions, but guilt killed her more, because of the deaths she caused with her gun, and also for birthing to the power he had now. He would apologize, but it would be empty words that had no meaning.

And so instead, he walks back to her, and fills a cup of water. She is quiet, though she follows him with her eyes. He takes a sip of water, and it cools his dry throat.

"Here," he hands it gently to her.

She stares at the cup for a moment, takes it, and then tips it to her lips. When she finishes, she stares at him, and for a very brief moment, the killer disappears. "Thank you," she says quietly, and her words seem to take a bit off the weight he seemed to carry.

He nodded, and gestures to the battlefield. "Let's return," he said, as he leads the way. She quietly follows him.

He would apologize, but it would not bring back the lives killed with both their hands.

 **END OF CHAPTER**


	3. Unknown Past (009)

A/N: Thank you to all the reviewers and to my beta! 3

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009: **_Unknown Past  
_**

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 _The girl—if it was appropriate to call her that, for she seemed only a few years younger than him—was standing quietly outside their shop. He found it unusual for two reasons: because it was a bar and he rarely saw girls in their teens loitering anywhere near it, and because she did not look like she was lost. She had short blonde hair, and timid brown eyes, and her hands were carrying a basket of fruits. His hands stopped in the middle of wiping a beer mug, as he wondered again why she would be here._

 _"Roy-boy!" a voice called out from behind him. He started as his foster mother walked near him. "What are you daydreaming over there for?"_

 _It was late in the afternoon, and people were starting to file into the bar, it was arguably the busiest time of their business. He hurried to pick the cloth he had dropped, and finished the glass he had left half-dry. "Nothing," he mumbled._

 _Madame Christmas frowned, clearly unconvinced. She looked to where he had been staring and saw the girl out their window. A grin spread across her burly face. "Ooooo, she looks pretty," she teased._

 _Roy glared at her, as his cheeks turned pink. "It's nothing like that."_

 _Madame Christmas laughed. "Really? It's not like you to be so shy about these kinds of things, Roy-boy."_

 _Roy flinched at her address. He did not reply, but continued to glare at her._

 _"Doesn't matter, she's gone now anyway," Madame Christmas' said, after another long laugh._

 _Roy turned quickly to where the girl had been, but there was nothing there now but an empty sidewalk._

 _Before he could react, Madame Christmas placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll see her again. Central is a very small city, despite what people say," she smiled at him. "And we've got a lot of work to do now, anyway."_

 _He finally looked away from the window, and shrugged her hand away. "I told you, it's nothing like that." He picked a new glass at his side, as his foster mother walked away chuckling. Yet even as the night wore on, he wondered about the girl._

"Roy-boy?"

Roy turned in surprise, and smiled as his foster mother walked towards him. "Daydreaming again?" she asked.

He shrugged as he pulled a seat for her. "Not really. An old memory suddenly resurfaced, that's all," he said quietly.

She laughed. "It's not like you to be reminiscing. And I thought you'd left minutes ago?" she asked him.

"Just waiting for my ride," he explained, taking his chair.

She raised a brow. "You didn't drive your car here?"

"A friend did. She dropped me off and picked up something from her apartment before we leave for headquarters," he explained, taking a sip from the glass of water before him.

"Oooo, got a lady from the military, have you?" she grinned.

Roy laughed. "It's nothing like that," he explained. In the corner of his eye, he saw a head of blonde appear outside the window. "Oh, she's here," he stood, smiling again at his foster mother. "I'll visit again next time. Tell the girls to take care," he said.

Madame Christmas rose from her seat as well. "You won't even introduce her?" she feigned a frown.

"Maybe next time," he called out, as he waved and walked away.

The bar was empty and it was easy for him to navigate through the tables. He tightened his coat as he stepped outside, and was greeted by the salute of the 2nd Lieutenant.

"I thought you'd get lost on the way back," he smiled as they walked towards his car.

"That's improbable, sir," she glanced at the bar and then at a street to their right. "There's a grocery far in that street," she gestured, just before they opened the car doors. "We often went there for fruits, when I was younger." They settled on their chairs.

He looked at the street interestedly. "Really?" he exclaimed in surprise. "I never knew there was a grocery there," he said, as he secured his seat belt.

She nodded as she turned the car's engine on.

"I should check out their fruits sometime soon," he shrugged, and the memory faded back into his subconsciousness.

 **END**


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